Of Hope and Pain
by Amed
Summary: "You were the one thing that kept me together through all this years, the hope I have suffered for for so long" [Genderswap] [Future one-sided Bolvar/Fem!Varian] [Future Varian/Tiffin] [Read More Inside] [Slight AU] [R&R] [Thank you in advance!]
1. Prologue

Hello people! Thank you very much for taking an interest in my story n.n

For now, I'll let you to read it, see the notes at the bottom for more information.

**Just one little thing:** English is not my first language, so I apologize for any mistakes I may have and I ask you to point them out for me so I can improve (just be polite about it)

Enjoy!

Chapter's warning: Genderswap (it's just the prologue, so it doesn't have nothing really wort mentioning in here)

Disclaimer: All the characters and locations belong to Blizzard Entertainments, I make no money from this.

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"_I still remember the first time I saw you. You shouldn't have been more than six years old._

_I wasn't that much older myself, barely two years your senior; and I was surely getting in trouble by spying on the King's daughter."_

/-/-/-/-/-/

The sun was shining brightly upon Stormwind's training grounds; but he opted to stay hidden in the shadows.

He knew he shouldn't be here, he should be training with the rest of his class, but his curiosity hasn't disappeared since he heard the rumors this morning.

The King's daughter was starting her training today.

He wasn't the curious type, but this was such a unique chance he just couldn't let it pass.

Everyone knew about the young princess and the King's unexpected decision to name her his sole heir. Although it was not unheard of a woman joining the ranks of the army –his own mother was proof of that-, to have a princess become a warrior and future King was something without precedents.

So it was understandable why for him, the only son of two low ranking soldiers, the prospect of even glancing at the princess was irresistible.

It has been so irresistible that, at the first opportunity he got, he sneaked away from his trainers and went in search of the famous royalty.

The princess would be learning from Master Hjalmar Anvilmar, which was a great feat on itself. The old dwarf's training was known to all aspirant soldiers as the ultimate proof of skills, because he never trained someone he didn't considered worthy; and even then, he usually took in people with at least some previous experience.

So it said a lot about the King's daughter that Master Anvilmar was the one to start her training; and if rumors had it right, she also received personal tutelage from Sir Anduin Lothar.

That just made her all the more impressive in his mind, and Light be damn if he'd let this chance go to waste.

He'll take his punishment later.

The sight of the princess itself wasn't really that extraordinary, she was wearing the same training clothes he himself wore, and there was nothing that indicated her status. No jewelry, no fancy piece of garment, nothing. Just plain old leather armor.

That somehow just made it more especial.

Her grip on the training sword wasn't that great, but it wasn't as bad as most beginner's, so maybe she did have some previous knowledge.

Looking at her for the first time, she didn't look a lot like her father. Granted, he had seen King Llane only a few times, and always from a distance, but the young princess didn't have his golden hair.

No, she had dark brown, short hair instead. Too short actually, compared to what he normally saw on high-class women, and it wasn't tied up on a fancy manner nor decorated with expensive jewelry. But it was kind of logical that she wouldn't have such things, as they would just get in the way while she trained –and maybe that was the same reason to have such short hair, barely reaching pass her ears.

She must have taken after her mother. Unfortunately he haven't seen the woman so far, the poor Queen had a week heart and didn't leave the Keep that much.

Her eyes, however, were definitely her father's.

They were the same stormy blue that characterized the Wrynn family, and they were tingling with excitement while she tried to mimic Anvilmar's movements.

The shinning in her eyes made him want to get out of hiding and approach the little group. Surely Master Anvilmar wouldn't mind if he just went to pay his respects to the royalty, right?

"Bolvar Fordragon!" the calling of an angry voice had him turning around to face the imposing figure of his mother.

Mara Fordragon was a woman of a strong will and a kind heart; she loved her son dearly and defended her kingdom with all her might.

That only served as a reminder that he should not have sneaked out of class.

"You should be training" the woman of long brown hair and clear blue eyes had her hands on her hips, in a pose Bolvar had learned to fear since a young age.

He swallowed and looked down in shame, there was nothing he could say to defend himself and he was ready to face the proper punishment.

"What were you doing anyway?" Mara asked, turning to see through the window her son had been previously looking through. He was her son after all; there must be a very good reason for him to skip training.

One floor down, in the training fields, there was Anvilmar teaching his students, which was something impressive to see, but was nowhere near as impressive as a certain little dark brunette.

The young princess of Stormwind.

She smiled, as any soldier she felt a great sense of pride for King Llane's daughter, and as a citizen of Stormwind, she had great hopes put on her.

As a mother she knew that was a lot of pressure resting on such a small child's shoulders, but seeing her right now, seeing the sloppy, yet confident grip she had on her training sword and the fiery look burning in her eyes she had no doubts that she would live up to the people's expectations.

"Let's go" she told her son, turning to walk back on her steps "You won't be able to protect Princess Varian if you miss on your training" she would let him off the hook for now, even she had to admit that Varian Wrynn was a damn good reason to do what he did.

Bolvar nodded and followed after her, stealing one last glance at the field bellow and the little girl training there.

He would become the greatest soldier this Kingdom has ever seen, and he will protect her at any cost.

It's a promise.

* * *

So, what do you think? Does it utterly suck? Should I stick with the lore Blizz keeps changing every now and then? Or is it good enough? Do you want to know more or you wish to go back in time and prevent yourself from reading it?

Tell me what you think in a review! Be it good or bad, just tell in a polite way! n.n

**About the Story:** Well, I'm a huge fan of Varian, and I love Bolvar a lot (I was like "nooo!" when he was 'supposedly killed' during Wrathgate) and my siblings and I always joke around the fact that, after Tiffin's death, both Bolvar and Varian practically raised Anduin together, and all those times Varian mentions how much he trust and cares about Bolvar, and all those things. So I always kind of liked the Bolvar/Varian couple.

Then, in the last year I became really obsessed with the genderswap, especially the genderbender (always-a-girl/boy) type. And sleeping the other day I had a dream about a Fem!Varian making out with Bolvar, so then I asked myself how exactly did those two met each other. You don't really have much of a background story for Bolvar, you don't even know how he's related to Mara (if he is related to her). So that's basically how this came out to be.

**What to expect from this Story:** Well, you'll have Genderswap in two cases, those being Varian and Tiffin (who were going to call Tyffin as it sound slightly more manly), in which they are both going to be from the opposite gender from the start (so they can get marry and have our sweet baby Andy!).

Some minor changes from what's the official lore are made to fit it in with this story. But not that much, what changes mostly is the time-lines and things like that (meaning, the time in which an event happened or the time that passes between one even and another), but nothing major. I mostly stick with Blizz's old time-line (as the last they published makes no sense whatsoever in some parts).

I may or may not have some parts with explicit sex. I haven't decided yet. Most likely I will not, as I don't feel confident enough to do so. In any case, it would be mentioned before hand and rating will go up accordingly to the content of the chapter. Rating will go up, as both Bolvar and Varian grow up and experience different things.

Most of the story is going to be from Bolvar's PoV (like this prologue), some chapter's will have a little introduction in first person (like this one) and once in a while, there would be a special chapter in Varian's PoV (with a little introduction from someone else's).

So, I hope you have liked this so far and thank you for reading!

Have a nice day and c'ya!


	2. Chapter I

Hello there! First of all, I want to thank everyone who read, and specially those who Favorited this! I wanted to put the first chap. up soon, so people will know a little bit more about how the story's gonna go.

But enough about that! I let you to read it!

Chapter's warnings: Some violence (I don't think is that much graphic thou), I don't wanna say ooc as you don't really know much about the characters (this is mainly on Mara's PoV), minor OCs (original characters), a kind of big lore change (explained at the bottom notes), and ultra-fanatics of the orcs may feel a little offended in some parts (I don't think there's nothing really offensive here, and keep in mind that this is during the First War, so orcs are still under demonic control and blood thirsty).

Disclaimer: Names and places belong to Blizzard Entertainments, the rest is mind, bu I make no money from this!

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Chapter I:

"_The second time we met, the circumstances were anything but good._

_I never thought, not even in my darkest nightmares, that our Kingdom would come to such a tragic end._

_But then again, no one ever dreamed that the mighty Kingdom of Stormwind would fall against invaders from another world…"_

/-/-/-/-/-/

The Church's bells were sounding the alarm, and their ringing could be heard over the people's screams and the sounds of battle. It served to increase the confusion and despair, and the distant voice of someone proclaiming that the enemies have reached the Keep made the truth all the more real in everyone's hearts.

Stormwind has fallen.

Bolvar was pushing through the people, trying to get to his mother, he needed to help her. He was wearing his training armor and holding his father's sword. He wasn't even twelve years old, but he just needed to do something to help the others.

"Barricade that bridge! Get the people out of here!" Mara's voice was barely heard over the sound of battle, and it was the only thing that kept the soldiers from breaking line.

Bolvar couldn't see the attackers from his position -his height wasn't really helping-, but he have seen some of them gathering before the City's gates before the battle started; plus, he have seen their ambassador, the half orc called Garona.

He has heard about the orc's ferocity in battle, and he saw nothing that proved otherwise, judging by the smoke rising from the Keep's direction.

There was no time to ponder about the King's fate or to worry about the Gate's defenders, he needed to get to his mother, and he needed to make sure she was alright.

He just has to.

"Mother!" he called as soon as he saw her.

Mara finished off with an orc that was trying to get pass their barricade, sinking her sword deep into the beast's neck –the weakest link in their armor-, and turned around to see who was calling her.

"Bolvar!" her heart almost stopped when she saw her son standing there, but she was sort of relieved, because he was alive.

"What are you doing here?! Get back!" she left her post, getting replaced immediately by another soldier, to go to him and grab him by the shoulder, pushing him away from the fight.

At that moment, a private came running towards Commander Saumell, her commanding officer, and seeing the despair in the soldier's eyes and posture, she decided to go see what was happening.

She took Bolvar with her, it was better to keep him by her side; it would make her feel calmer.

"…lost, only a few made it out. Sir…" they got in hearing distance half-way through the private's report, but they could imagine what he was talking about "…the King's dead"

A deafening silence felt upon them, not because the battle and the screaming people had stop, but because the news made their dire situation all the more hopeless.

"And the royal family?" Commander Saumell asked, wishing there was still some hope, something to fight for.

"We don't know, sir" the private shook his head and answered, breaking their hopes with that short sentence.

Mara swallowed hard, the sound of swords clashing and people screaming slowly coming back to her ears, and she knew she couldn't give up now.

There were still people that needed to be saved, citizens that needed to be taken to safety, and a city that needed to be evacuated.

She still had her son to protect.

"Sir, we have to get this people out of here!" she told Commander Saumell, trying to get the man out of his shock "Sir!" she yelled, grabbing his shoulder to make him look at her.

What she saw in his eyes was total and absolute lost, the man didn't know what to do, and they didn't have the time to wait for him to get a grip on himself.

"Round the people up, lead them to the port. Have at least five soldier with you" she pulled the private towards the masses, getting the attention of everyone around.

"Grab all the provisions you can get, keep the women and children in the middle of the group, stay together!" everyone followed her orders without a question, they needed someone to guide them, to tell them what to do so they could keep their minds distracted.

Mara got close to the soldiers defending the barricade, turning Sergeant Milles, the one in charge, around to get his attention.

"Anything you can do to buy us some time?" she asked with a serious expression, letting him know that whatever was needed would be done, no matter what.

Sergeant Milles thought for a while, looking around for something that may help them, and as soon as he got an idea, he communicated it to his superior.

"We have enough explosives to blow up that tower" he said pointing to the Church's left tower "But I'll need a few minutes to set them up" he said, sheathing his sword and going to get the explosives.

"You got them. As soon as you're ready, signal us from that window and we'll clear out the area" Mara helped him put the dynamite in a bag, for easy transport, and before he left, she took his arm and told him some last words "Once the tower's down, we'll meet back at the docks, understood?"

Sergeant Milles swallowed hard but nodded, continuing on his way without looking back.

Both knew that was an order he won't be able to fulfill.

Mara went back to the soldiers, ordering all those who knew how to use a gun to load them and form a line behind the rest.

"Mother!" the sound of Bolvar's cry had her turning around, fearing the worst, and she saw him struggling against the soldiers that were pushing him with the other children.

"Bolvar, get back!" she ordered, helping the soldiers to pull him away from the battle.

"No!" he freed himself from their restriction, and looked up to his mother with determination in his eyes "I want to fight!"

Mara swallowed, she understood the boy's wishes to join the battle, but she knew there was nothing he could do to help.

"Son…" she kneeled down and grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to look at her in the eyes "You need to stay with the people; you need to help them reach the ports"

"But…" Bolvar tried to protest, but she was not hearing it.

"There would be a time for you to fight for this city, so _live_ to get to that day!" she was not letting her only son to die for a lost cause.

Today the city was lost, tomorrow they'll get it back, but they needed to live through this night.

Bolvar nodded, still a little reluctant, and went back to the people, doing his best to calm down the scared children.

Mara, once again besides the soldier at the barricade, looked up to the Church's tower.

It only took a minute for a little light to be seen on the window, and that was the signal she has been waiting for,

She called for retreat, and had the Rangers fire against the approaching Horde, giving the soldiers enough time to clear out before the explosion.

For a moment all she could see was the dust from the fallen debris, and all she could hear was an ear-piercing ringing.

She was able to distinguish a figure coming at her and a war cry in a strange language resounding in the distance, and she reacted right on time to block the axe coming down on her with her sword.

The orc seemed to have taken several gun-shots and was bleeding from a wound on his head –probably caused by a piece of the broken tower that had hit him-, but that didn't stopped him from attacking relentlessly.

Mara blocked the coming blows as best as she could, but her mind was still recovering from the explosion and fear was slowly overtaking her heart.

There was no way to stop them, what would they ever do?

One second she let the fear paralyze her, only one second it took for the orc to land a successful blow on her.

The orc's axe cut diagonally from her left hip up to her right shoulder, the strength of the attack piecing her armor and knocking her back a few feet.

She staggered and fell down on one knee, her sword falling from her limp hand to the floor.

She closed her eyes and surrender to her fate, only hoping that Bolvar had made it out of the city.

"Knight Fordragon!" but she didn't felt the pain from the killing blow or the numbing silence of death.

Mara opened her eyes and saw Commander Saumell standing in front of her, his sword raised and still dripping blood, and behind him, a beheaded body felt to the ground.

Commander Saumell turned around and grabbed her by the arm, giving her only enough time to grab her sword before pulling her up and pushing her towards the docks.

The run to the docks was longer than what they remembered, and the pain on her side made her sight blur. Her vision darkened for a second and when it cleared again they were already at their destiny.

Every single ship on port was letting people on board, regardless of the type of vessel, and she could see already two have set sail away from shore.

Soldiers have line up and were shooting against the orcs coming at them –there were two ways to reach the ports, Mara have just delayed the Horde's passing through one-, while every citizen that was fast enough boarded the ships.

"Stand your ground!" she screamed once she reached the soldiers "Get those cannons ready!" she pointed to the only war vessel on port, and a soldier ran to do her binding.

Commander Saumell let her go, sitting her on the floor ad checking on her wound.

He didn't say anything, but he didn't need to, she already knew.

'_Light, grant me the strength'_ Mara closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

This could not be her end, she needed to see this through, and she needed to make sure this people would survive.

She needed to make sure her son would live.

'_Just give me some more time'_ a soothing warmth surrounded her body and she was able to breath easily again.

"Mother!" her son's voice reached her ears and she opened her eyes.

"Bolvar!" she hugged him once he was close enough, holding him tight in her arms "Praise the Light" she kissed the top of his head, tears of relief on her eyes.

Mara would have loved to stay like this for longer, but reality demanded otherwise.

She released him and ordered him to board the warship, commanding the soldiers to slowly retreat and board as well.

Once the last two ships holding the citizens were at a good distance from the docks, she ordered the warship to get in position to bombard the nearby buildings, to bring the structure down and block the way to the port –at least long enough to scape.

The sounds of battle slowly faded away, and as the sight of the burning city grew distant, the adrenaline began to dissipate from their veins.

Several soldiers felt to the floor exhausted, mentally, physically or both. Now with nothing to keep their minds distracted, the severity of their situation weighed heavily on their hearts.

"Mom…" she kneeled down and extended her arms towards her son, who immediately hugged her with all his might, tears starting to slowly fall from his eyes.

She patted his hair, letting some of her own tears to fall.

What was lost would never come back, and she would forever have the burden of all those lives she was not able to save on her shoulders.

'_Light guide us…'_ she prayed.

She prayed for safety, she prayed for a place to go, she prayed for a safe trip, she prayed to find an answer, and she prayed to find a way.

She prayed because there was nothing else to do now but to pray and mourn.

"Sir…" one of the soldiers neared Commander Saumell, he seem to be part of the ship's crew "Where should we head to?"

The older man looked at the soldier for a while, but then turned around towards the two Fordragons.

"It's not really my place to tell…" he said looking at Mara in the eyes, and she understood what he meant.

"Lordaeron" she said, still holding on to her son.

She didn't know what made her think of Lordaeron, but something told her that that's where they should go, that they would find refuge there.

And there was nothing but her instinct to follow now.

"Signal the other ships and have someone send a message to the capital cities of all the other Kingdoms, we're going to need all the help we can" the soldier nodded and went to do as she said.

Mara sighed tired and looked up to the sky. The sun have already hide under the horizon, it's last rays of light painting the world of warm oranges and pinks, and both moons where easily seen between the clouds, while one single star was shining high in the sky.

That start leaded north, and they would follow it to, hopefully, a better tomorrow.

To be continued…

* * *

Well, I hope you have enjoyed this.

All you know about Mara comes from a statue in Stormwind Keep (think it's still there, can't remember now), and all it says is that she guided the refugees in Lordaeron, but nothing more, so this is all my take on things, ok?

**Lore changes:** If you know about the evacuation of Stormwind during the first war, you may have noticed that neither Lothar nor Varian are with the rest of the survivors. Well, I do know how did they escaped from the city, I just wanted to make it a little different, all in all, there's not going to be a huge difference afterwards. How did they managed to escape and why I decided to change it will be explained in the next chapter, as I don't want to spoil it for you.

Well, tell me what you thought! Next chap'll be up soon (not extremely soon, but not in two months either), so I hope you'll like that one too n.n

Leave a review and tell me what you think!

Thank you again for reading and c'ya!


	3. Additional Chapter I: Varian's Pain

Well, hello there! How have you been? Fine I hope n.n

Ok, this is the first of the 'Additional-Chapters' which focus on Varian's PoV of things (they may not all be written in Varian's PoV, but will definitely focus more on her), this one in specific, it's about Stormwind's fall during the first war.

So I guess you all have an idea of how this' gonna go from that, right? So let's read on!

Chapter's Warnings: Genderswap, little gore (I would say little violence actually), some lore-changes (explained at the end-notes), OCed cannon characters (also explained at the end-notes). and ultras-extreme fanatic of ors may fell somewhat offended in some parts (keep in mind this is during the time of demon-corrupted, blood-thirsty orcs).

Disclaimer: The lore belongs to Blizzard, all the rest is mine.

* * *

Additional-Chapter I: Varian's Pain.

"_The King was pacing from one side of the room to another. He needed to do something; otherwise he would barge through that door and see what was going on._

_His wife, the Queen, was giving birth._

_For Llane this was a very stressful moment. His wife Airline has already been pregnant twice before this one, one was a miscarriage and the other a stiff born; so even if he prayed for the safety of both his wife and child, he couldn't help but fear the worst._

_Sited on a chair near the door, his mother was with her hands closed in a silent prayer; and standing rigid in a corner, Sir Anduin Lothar watched his King with concern._

_The thick wood double-doors that separated them from the delivery room did nothing to silence the Queen's pained screams, and it made the tension on the air all the more unbearable._

_The night passed away slowly and it was a torture for the King, but when the sunrise came, silence fell upon the._

_There was no screaming, no crying, nothing, and Llane felt his heart on his throat for all it lasted._

_After minutes that felt like years, the muffled sound of an infant's cry reached their ears, and relief and joy swept through their systems._

_Queen-mother Varia got up and embraced her son, and Sir Lothar relaxed his posture, giving his King a warm smile._

"_Your majesty…" the sound of the doors opening and the voice of one of the priestess interrupted them, and Llane rushed inside the other room._

_Inside, lying on the bed looking exhausted, his wife was holding a tiny bumble covered in white clothes._

_Pride was already swiping through the King's body, and he didn't even know how his heir looked like, or what it was._

_Llane reached the bed and sat besides his wife, hugging her and placing a kiss on her sweaty forehead, and looked down to what she was holding._

_The baby was tiny, it's face was chubby and red, a little mop of dark brown hair was seen on top of its head, and it was still covered in blood and fluids._

_And it was the most beautiful thing Llane has ever seen._

"_It's a girl" his wife said while reluctantly passing the baby to one of the priestess, so they could wash it._

_Llane smiled and hugged his wife tighter, he didn't care about the baby's gender, he never did, he just wanted it to be healthy._

_Her. He has a _daughter_, and _she_ is healthy._

_Once the baby was clean and in his arms, he called for his mother and one of the priestess went to look for her._

_The Queen-mother immediately neared her first grandchild, stopping only to place a comforting hand on her daughter-in-law's shoulder, she most of all knew what she just went through._

"_This is your granddaughter" Llane said showing her the little baby, to the joy of the elder woman._

_Varia looked with love at the infant nestled between the covers and her son's arms._

_She was glad for the child's well-being and she knew her family would love her no matter what, but she also knew about politics and that the lords of the Kingdom would prefer a prince over a princess._

"_Son…" she called, it was a pity to ruin such a joyful moment with such ridiculous things, but they had to._

_A King's life was not his own, and he should always do what was best for the Kingdom._

"_No" Llane said, he already knew what she wanted to talk about "I don't need any more children"_

"_Love…" his wife said, holding on to his arm._

_Pregnancy has been difficult and labor was painful, and both have endangered her and the child's life, but as a Queen, Airline also knew what was needed._

"_She is enough" he didn't wanted his wife to endanger her life again, not just so the nobles would have their preferred heir to the throne "She is perfect"_

"_The House of Nobles would pressure to get a prince" his mother said, she wanted Llane to really _understand_ what it meant to have a female ruling a Kingdom "It won't be easy for her"_

"_I know she can do it" maybe it was asking too much from a new born, but his daughter would have the best role model she could get "I knew she'll become a great ruler just like you are, mother"_

_When his father, King Adamant Wrynn III die, he has still been too young to take the throne, and during the time it took him to get ready for the responsibilities, his mother have taken over the government of the Kingdom, and she had done an excellent job at keeping it safe and prosper._

_Varia smiled, she still had her doubts about this, but she knew her son was not about to change his mind. She just hoped her granddaughter would have an easier time than she did._

"_You'll do great" the King whispered to his daughter "My sweet, little Varian"_

/-/-/-/-/-/

"Everything is going to be fine" she heard her mother said while caressing her hair.

They were waiting on the Royal Quarters, her mother, grandmother and her, while her father dealt with the matters at hand.

The enemy has surrounded their city.

The room was mostly silent, except for the occasional word of reassurance her mother told her to keep her calm. Varian didn't know if she said those things to calm her or to calm herself.

Her grandmother, on the other hand, was silent, deadly silent, and her hands were closed in a prayer. She has learned from an early age that that could not mean something good.

She, on her part, was restless.

Being imprisoned here in the Royal Quarters was torture, she'd never liked to be limited to the same room for hours, and all that was going on outside the room's walls just made it worse.

She wanted to be besides her father, she wanted to know what was happening. Maybe she could be of some help.

But Llane has ordered her to stay here, said that she would be safe here in case anything happened.

Varian snorted at that. What could possibly happen?

Stormwind was impenetrable, her father has said so, and all the soldiers would fight to their last breath to defend the city.

There was nothing the orcs could do to change that.

She felt her mother's arms get tighter around her body, and she turned her head around to look at her.

Airline gave her a little smile and kissed her on the top of her head, rocking her a little on her arms, just like she did whenever she was sick or sad.

She snuggled a little closer to her mother's warm figure. This was a nightmare, she thought, she wanted to know what was going on!

The door crack open, getting the attention of all three of them, and in came an elderly man clad in heavy armor with a golden lion belt-buckle that was twice the size of Varian's hand.

"Sir Lothar" her mother said, surprised to see the man here, loosening a little the hold she had on her.

Last they heard, Lothar was on an special mission to Karazhan, have left to check the rumors of Medivh's, Llane's court wizard and friend, supposed treachery; so the fact that he was here could either mean something good or bad.

Or both.

"Anduin!" once the shock of seeing him have passed, Varian jumped off of her mother's lap and ran up to the older man, hugging his legs –which was as far as she could reach- and smiling up to him.

"Hey there, little one" he smiled softly back at her, but worry still laced his features, and he gently pushed her away from him and walked closer to the women in the room.

Varian stayed behind while the adults talked, paying close attention to all they said.

It hurt a little to know that Medivh have indeed betrayed them, she knew her father would take this news the harder, he have trusted in the wizard all this long and never believed in what was said about him.

It was, indeed, something tragic, and his death didn't really solve anything.

"…It shouldn't be long now. The King is meeting with Garona while we speak, hopefully they…" her interest perked right back up at hearing the orc's ambassador's name.

Being completely honest, Garona was the only 'orc' Varian has ever personally known, and even then she was only _half_ orc.

Truth be told, she liked her quite alright. She was strong and skilled and has told her a few tricks about throwing knives that have come in handy way too many times not to be appreciated.

Llane trusted Garona, and that was already enough to do so too.

While Lothar kept talking to her mother and grandmother about the situation outside the city's gates and said that it would be best for them to evacuate the Keep, Varian looked back at the open door, having a hard time deciding whether to leave the three adults talking and sneak out or to stay put as she'd been told to do.

It…shouldn't be a problem; she just wanted to see her father.

So, with a promise to apologize to Anduin once it was all over, she left the Royal Quarters and headed to the Throne Room.

She passed several servants and guards on the halls, all of them surely recognized her, but they either thought nothing of her or were not fast enough to catch her.

Reaching the Throne Room, she heard voices talking, so she opened the door quietly, just enough to see what was happening on the other side, and stayed silent.

"…by nightfall. Until then, the Blackrock clan will be trying to take the eastern wall" that was Garona talking, and what she said made fear rise in Varian.

She didn't know how the city's defenses were holding up, but she did know the army that they counted with right now was not nearly enough to break a siege from all the orc clans combined.

"We will hold until the reinforcement come" the voice of her father resounded loud and clear through the Throne Room "As long as men with stout hearts are manning the walls and throne, Stormwind will hold" his words were firm, filled with pride and security, and they made whoever heard them feel reassured of what fate held for them.

Varian smiled and was about to made her presence know, when her gaze fell upon Garona.

The half orc had her lips pressed in a tight line, her hands were holding with such force her unsheathed daggers it must be painful, and a single tear dropped from her iris-less eyes.

"The orc leaders agree with your assessment" the movement happened too fast, and Varian was only able to scream once it was too late.

The daggers pierced through her father's chest as if it were made of paper, and blood poured out of the wound in ribbons of crimson.

Llane's pained scream was almost silent, or at least not as loud as Varian's own, and his eyes glanced at her direction before his body fell to the floor.

She ran to him, calling his name and shacking him once she reached him, the tears in her eyes blurring her vision and falling down on his motionless face.

The sound of steps going backwards had her turning back to face her father's murderer.

Garona was standing not too far from her, one of her daggers had fallen to the floor and the other was still dripping blood. On her left hand she held the bleeding heart of Stormwind's King.

Something Varian would never forget, and never quite understand either, was her face. It was emotionless. Blank. As if she was unable to have any feelings at all, except for the tears running down her cheeks.

Varian sucked in her breath and didn't move while the half orc looked down on her, and they stayed like that for a couple of seconds till the sound of the door being barged open and of armored footsteps broke the silence.

Garona bolted right out of the room, meeting the guards that have entered head-on, and she went back to her father.

She shook him, called for him, and did anything she could to wake him up. The logical part of her mind told her that it was useless, because he was not asleep, but she didn't wanted to believe it.

This has to be a dream, a nightmare, and illusion or something. This just simply couldn't be reality.

Strong arms surrounded her and pulled her against a plate-covered chest, and she was pushed away from her father and out of the room.

She trashed, kicked and fought against the arms imprisoning her, wanting to go back to her father. She didn't want to leave him.

Lothar tightened his hold on the little princess, feeling frustration and impotency starting to overwhelm him. And Varian was not making this any easier.

His sense of pride and loyalty told him that he should bring a swift death to the traitor that have murderer his king, but he couldn't. The royal family needed to be taken to safety, and he'll feel much better if he saw to it himself.

"Take her" he passed the girl to her mother, who'll have a better chance to calm her down than he did.

Varia and Airline followed him without looking back, and without asking any question. There was no point in doing so anyway. They already knew what had happened.

"Shh, it's ok, everything's going to be ok" the Queen tried to calm her daughter, who kept fighting against the restrictions.

But for every step that took them away from the Throne Room, Varian's strength decreased till she was just hopelessly crying on her mother's shoulder.

She closed her eyes tight, trying to force the images of her father's death off of her mind, but that was all she could see.

The daggers, the blood, Llane's face and Garona's tears. It all kept playing on her mind over and over.

Soon they were out of the Keep, she could tell by the wind and the smell of smoke, and she could hear Lothar saying that they needed to reach the ports.

But something happened, something neither of them was expecting. An explosion of some sort came from their right, close enough to her mother and her that they were pushed back from the force of it, and Airline lost her hold on her.

Varian hit the ground full force, and she allowed herself to regain her breath before getting back up. Once she opened her eyes, however, she wished she had been knock unconscious by the fall.

The city that surrounded her, the same city that has seen her been born and saw her grow up all this years, the city she called home, _her_ city, was burning.

Buildings were consumed by flames, windows shattered from the heat and smoke raised to the sky accompanied by screams she couldn't see whom they belonged to.

She stood there petrified, wondering how much time had actually passed since the events in the Throne Rooms, and how much longer would it take till everything she has ever known ended up like this.

From between the flames, she saw a figure nearing. Too muscular to be a human, too covered in ashes and blood not it's own.

She looked at it, and eventually it looked at her. Eyes glowing red looked at her for a moment, and she breathed in deeply, not really feeling panic as she wasn't really feeling anything at the moment.

Soon the orc came charging at her and the only thing she managed to do was open her eyes a little wider, in the back of her mind knowing what was coming but not being able to react.

That was not how it ended, however, because someone got in the middle of her and the orc.

Her mother had screamed her name and shielded her from the upcoming blow with her body, doing her best to restrain the orc's movements holding tightly to his weapon, even though the first blow she took should have ended her life.

Varian had wanted to scream, to help her mother in some way, but she couldn't order her body to move. She couldn't _do_ anything, she was of _no use_. She was just a hopeless child that managed to make everything worst.

It didn't took long for the orc to get rid of the Queen's body, but judging by his expression and angered growl, it had took longer than he had liked, and he threw it aside like a dirtied rag.

Airline's body hit the ground and her blood splattered around it, some drops landing on her daughter's face, being the thing that finally made her react.

The princess of Stormwind screamed, but not out of fear or panic, but out of rage and anger. Had anyone else heard it, they would have called it an animalistic growl, one that if left to grow old enough it would become a war cry that would strike fear into the hearts of the enemy.

And it would have a chance to grow, _she_ would have a change to grow, Lothar will make sure of that.

In a quick movement he disposed of the orc, swinging his sword with as much strength as he has, letting some of his own frustration and anger go in that one blow that chopped off the beast head.

"¡Take her!" he ordered the Queen-mother, pushing the little girl away from her mother's corpse and into her arms "¡We need to reach the ports before…!"

"The path is blocked" Varia interrupted the warrior while holding her granddaughter with force, who was again fighting against her restrains.

The explosions from earlier that had sunken this part of the city in flames had destroyed the bridge that they needed to go through to get to the harbor, and to reach the nearest one they had to go through the burning buildings.

Both adults looked at each other for a while, asking the other what they should do now. The only possible way to scape Lothar knew was not a viable path, it required more risk than they could afford to take.

"I know a way" the older woman said getting up from her crouched position, Varian still trashing in her arms "Follow me"

Lothar nodded and sheathed his sword, and both headed to where they came from.

Once reaching the Keep, the Queen-mother did her best to avoid the Throne Room and walked to the Royal Quarters.

Compered to before, the place was practically deserter. A few soldiers and servants still came and go around the halls, but they paid no mind to them. They should, they regret not to, but they couldn't.

"Hold her" Varia passed her granddaughter, who had once again calmed down, to the elderly man.

She started searching the wall. She knew there was a hidden passage that leads to the mountains behind Northshire here somewhere, but she couldn't remember where exactly.

She had only seen it once, back when Adamant and her where just kids that liked to fool around and hide from their tutors.

After some time she found the stone that opened the passage and was about to push it when they heard a scream resounding from the entrance of the Keep.

"¡Go!" she told Lothar, opening the path and pushing him inside it "Follow it straight to the exit, the family in the other side will help you from there"

Lothar looked at her for a moment, understanding what she had implied with that, and she smiled reassuringly at him, even though fear was shining on her eyes.

Varia took a step closer to her granddaughter, caressing her hair and placing a sweet kiss on the top of her head, gaining Varian's attention.

"I love you, sweetheart" she said and closed the passage.

'_No'_ Varian watched her grandmother turn around and leave before the wall got close, and for the third time that day she felt the rage and hurt overtake her "¡NO!" she screamed once the wall was close, fighting against the arms that kept her restrained.

Lothar tried his best to keep her steady, but the little girl was fighting against him with a force he didn't thought she had, screaming all the while at the top of her lungs.

He considered himself a patience man, but right now his patience was running out, and for every struggle the child made, the feeling of failure grew.

He has failed to prevent this war; he has failed to foresee Medivh's and Garona's treachery; he has failed to protect his King, his dear friend Llane; he has failed his Queen and Queen-mother.

He has failed his kingdom, his friend and his rulers, and if Varian kept yelling like that, he would fail her too.

"Forgive me, child" he whispered in her ear and with a strong hit to the back of her head, he knock her unconscious.

Varian's world became dark, and she dreamed of her family.

She dreamed of her grandmother and how she always got mad when she didn't pay attention at the church. She dreamed of her father and all the stories he told her to make her sleep. She dreamed of her mother and how she'll always get worry whenever she picked up her training sword, but how she would always smile.

She dreamed about fire and blood, about a biting heart and tears, about red eyes and red-stained cloths, and about darkness and smiles.

When she woke up, she no longer felt the rage coursing through her veins. They were outside and the last rays of sun were illuminating the place.

Lothar put her down once he realized she was awake, and he went to meet the three people that came out of the little farm that overlooked the falls.

She didn't pay attention to them; instead she walked to the edge of the cleft and looked down on Northshire, wandering if they had suffered the same fate of Stormwind.

Behind her, Lothar was talking to the family that lived there, telling them that they should leave this place immediately and discussing about the fastest way to warn both Redridge and Westfall.

She hears them say something about an orphanage and a little port that they could go to, but she wasn't really listening. All her attention was on the city that lay behind the mountains.

If there's still a city there, that is.

She had left everything there. Her cloths, her training sword, her toys, her books…She had left her family there.

Her father, mother and grandmother laid there death, or worse. And she was here unable to do anything about it, unable to change a single thing.

She wanted to be back there with them. It was too much to let go and she couldn't do it.

Varian took one step forward and the ground disappeared beneath her feet. But she didn't fall; two strong arms prevented her to.

"¡No, my child! No, my child" Lothar said, desperation and anguish on his voice, and Varian looked down on the raging waters bellow, only now realizing what could have happened "It's not worth it"

The man's words made her chest hurt, and the tear ran freely down her cheeks.

"It's gone" she said, voice barely over a whisper "Everything's just…lost"

She felt the man shake his head against her and his own tears falling on her shoulder, and she realized this was the first time she had heard Lothar cry.

"The kingdom is not lost, my child" he said slowly, tightening his hold around her "Stormwind is not on the building and the bridges. It's not on the towers and the fields"

Varian looked up to the sky, over the mountains and the rising smoke, and watched the sun disappear in the distance.

"Stormwind is on her people, it's on you" he turned her around and graved her shoulders, forcing her to look at her "As long as you're alive, as long as there's a Wrynn on the throne, Stormwind will never fall"

He cupped her face and kissed her softly on the forehead, and she hugged him, crying freely on his shoulder.

And over the sounds of the burning city and falling water, Varian could hear a wolf howling at the rising moons.

To be continued…

* * *

So? What you think? I seriously hope you have liked it n.n

So, ok, explanations:

**OCed Character**: What I mean with this is, because of some characters that are in no way explained in the lore, but that exist in the lore, to use them I had to 'invent them' myself. This are they cases of both Varian's mother and grandmother.

It is cannon that Varian was named after his grandmother, Varia, and that his mother was a noble from what's now know as Darkshire (can't remember the origuinal name), but other than that, you know nothing of them, so everything that you saw of them here, it's my invention.

You do know that Adamant Wrynn III, Llane's father and Varian's grandfather, die shortly after the orc's first exploration to Azeroth (around 10 years before the first war, in old lore time-line), and that's when Llane's crowned. What I did here, was give a little time spam between those two things (a year, two years tops) where the Kingdom's rule came down to the Queen, Varia.

And about Llane's wife, well, you know basically nothing of her, you don't even know her name. So, besides giving her a name (Airline, which I found on a random name generator for characters in wow xD), I gave her all those little facts about her. Like her difficulties with pregnancy and the fact that she had already lost two babies before having Varian (which is again my idea).

**Lore Changes:** Well. I think I mostly kept in lore here. Time-lines, as I said before, are based on the old Warcraft lore (the one you saw in games and early novels/comics).

The only mayor change I can admit to doing here, is the way Lothar and Varian escaped from Stormwind. To my shame, I must admit I forgot how exactly did they escaped while writhing this, and not counting with internet at the time and place, I just did this.

Why I did it like this? Well, since Cata-WoW and flying mounts on Azeroth, I came to love this little house/farm that was hidden between the mountains behind Northshire, in Elwyn Forest. And I always wondered what was the point of that little, deserted house there, so while trying to come up with a way for Lothar and Varian to leave Stormwind, I remembered that little house and I decided to give it a propose myself =)

Then later, when I was able to search for the actual way they escape, I already liked this whole idea and I thought to myself: "Hell, I already made Varian a girl, what's the harm?", so yeah, that's it xD

**Please Review!** I already appreciate a lot that you guys have read this, and If you liked it, drop a review and tell me so! n.n

Anything you want to ask me, go on ahead and leave a review! Or send my a PM and I'll get back at you ass soon as I can.

I can't really tell how long would it be for the next chap. to come out (almost done, just struggling with this scene that I can't put into words), so keep and eye open for it!

Thank you once more and c'ya!

Have a nice day and take care!


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